coroho wrote:I might switch to something else from the crunches soon, I don't know how much they're benefitting me and I haven't advanced since I dropped the counter weight.

I've always thought the reverse crunches were quite effective, I get a major burn off them. I'm still using a 5kg plate. I find they're as hard as you make them. The slower you do them the better, so you're not using momentum. And concentrate on your core pulling your legs rather than using the counterweight. Something that completely changed these for me was putting something inbetween my thighs and calves to ensure my legs were in a closed position all the time. Made them much harder - no cheating!

You know, you may be right. Looking back I think I was using the counterweight to cheat some.. I go slow on the down movement but not so much on the crunch movement. I'll try doing them slower next time and add a counterweight if I need to. I also find staying tensed at the bottom makes 'em harder, ie legs not past parallel. I do agree they burn when done right.

Then the other couple meals I actually cook like black bean burgers, pasta, stir fry or I might eat out (tho rarely). Throw in some more fruits and nuts and peanut butter sandwiches/whatever and that's about it. I can eat more on days when I get a lot in early on. I'll have hit 4k and about to go to bed but still be hungry. Lots of oats and carbs I know

And no you're not being a pussy. If your leg hurts everytime you go to do them because it hasn't healed, you need to rest it. If you're not sure, start off light and add weight gradually to see if the injuries still lingering. I'll be able to tell you soon if deep squats are making a difference for me

Hopefully it does. I've been thinking about doing some front squats in the meantime, but I think those are supposed to use your quads more so we'll see. Did you change anything besides the bar position to start going deeper?

Fifth workout no squats Front ones felt fine tho but I quit after 2 sets cause my wrists kind of hurt and I wasn't that confident in my form. Think I mainly need to work on racking it better then I can take the weight up. Tied PR on deadlift but I think I can still do more. Hit 10 pullups for the first time. I swear B days work the calluses good between those two exercises. It's cool tho

Squats, fuck yeah! Took it light though and my right leg felt fine, however in my 3rd set at 60 my left leg started straining in the same place! I think I'm doing something wrong on the way up. Considering switching to front squats for awhile and see if that helps any/strengthens my quads. On my first set on BP I didn't think I'd get close to finishing all sets, but after I got 5 there I kept feeling I could do it again. That last rep I got up but a guy I had asked to spot me helped out a little so I don't count it. Rightly so though, the bar started to travel towards my waist and he pulled it back so it would've been bad form anyway.No progress on rows. Dips went up again, but my shoulder kind of hurts since. I dip pretty deep and it feels comfortable, but I've read you shouldn't go much past parallel so I may try that next time. Reverse crunches with the counterweight: damn! That burned, I've def been neglecting form. Nice.

Progress: I gained 3 lbs last week! I'm still skinny but I'm getting some muscle at my core:

Your bench press is great! I've been stuck on 55kg for like 4 attempts now

Still to update my log for yesterday, but the reverse crunches were amazing. I used super strict form. Very slow up and down. Legs never coming down past vertical and hands not leaving the floor. It's just one of those exercises that are as hard as you make them.

Your core's looking great! I'm gonna have to shift like 10lbs of fat before I see anything like that! Haha

Squats: Went lighter today and video'd myself. Guess what, form's exactly the same with shaky knees and all lol. Got some work to do I guess, but at least I'm not still injured. Squats is a cruel mistress.Press: Used a starting form closer to how I was trying to front squat, with the bar coming closer to my shoulders. Made some of the cues more doable, eg. keep your elbows in front. Not sure if it made it easier, but I didn't struggle much at this weight. Test will come next week at 35kg.Deadlift: Was pretty hard, but not extremely. I forgot to try incorporating a mixed grip. I've been doing it in my warmups to try to get used to it, but just forgot today. Maybe that will help me out next time. Tried to video this too but hit the record button twice. Fail.Chins: Hit 11 for the first time, but it took a lot out and the next couple sets were kind of low. Get those next time.Bridges: Kept everything pretty tight and went for an extra 10 secs. Felt good.

sidenote: I cooked my own beans today. Man, that's like 3x cheaper! And I won't have to go through so many cans in a week haha.

Squats: I read this article and think I found the source of my problems in the last point. I can definitely feel a difference coming up now, with my hamstrings doing most of the work by contracting. It feels like I'm just rising up.. so that's what the whole bounce thing is about eh? My knees are a lot more stable too. Not perfect yet, but I think if I keep at this and maybe start some mobility exercises I should be building back up in no time.Bench Press: Was heavy, particularly the last two sets. I didn't wanna do worse than I did last time so I pressed on and managed to get them all. I wish it was feasible to BP in a rack at the gym cause it's gonna be hard next time and I don't wanna have to ask someone to spot me 4 or 5 times. Dips: Whoa! 15. All I did was not go as deep. Set a PR and my shoulders feel fine. Considering the switch to weighted dips soon, but may try again to get a better feel for it as I had to keep watching myself in the mirror. Also to make sure it wasn't a fluke haha.

Thanks man. Yeah, that article is really nothing that hasn't said before, it just helped me realize the difference between staying tense and, well, "going all loosy-goosey." I was doing squats before in two movements--one down movement, then one up movement. This opposed to one movement with two parts. A compound movement even His youtubes are basically giving you exercises to do if you have such and such problem as far as I could tell. Lots of them too. So that's pretty helpful. Might give you some good ones for the ol' groin

Crunches were fine. I was pretty tired after the rest of my workout so I just grabbed a 10lb weight again. Last set was still pretty hard. I feel like curling up into a ball after I finish a hard set of those lol

Squats: Working on form, building my way back up..Press: Took 2 deloads but I finally got 35kg. Sweet.Deadlift: Might have added more weight than I did. Oh well. Form was better I think.Pullups: Ran out of energy by here. Not sure why, but this morning I was kind of out of it the whole way through.

Squats: Ok, I was squatting doing my thing when after my 2nd or 3rd set this older guy comes up and starts talking to me/giving me advice. Most of his advice was directly opposed to what I've learned on my own, but I indulged him and tried to explain why I thought otherwise. I think I was lending him more credence cause he's a real life coach (so he said) rather than an on the internet coach, but I soon found this didn't make him any more right. He got under my work set and proceded to pump out like 8 or 9 reps without warming up. I guess this was supposed to impress me, but he was doing high bar quarter squats I cut it pretty short after that, but in the end he took about 15 minutes of my time.Bench press: Started out good but I could feel myself running out of energy as I got on. I tried Dave Tate's advices and it felt a lot more solid but I think I need to set my knees/legs a bit more solid next time cause one would start shaking or twitching.Elevated Rows/Dips: Yeah, pretty drained by this point > sub par sets.Reverse Crunches: First exercise I've skipped, but it would have been almost worthless to try. Will do them later today.edit: Reverse Crunches 3x12, 7lb counter. Had to cheat a bit, will go back to 10 next time.

Squats: Yes, starting to get challenging again. Will probs add 2.5kg/session from here. Forgot how much a good squat sesh can add to a workout.Press: Not bad, not bad at all..Deadlift: Felt even better than last time. Looking forward to putting two big plates on either side next time Chinups: Good, but I was getting pretty tired by this point. This time not from lack of energy, just general fatigue.All in all, awesome workout. I weighed 140lbs when I woke up this morning, which was my first mini goal. I've honestly never weighed this much before o:

Squats kind of hurt in my leg on the way up today. Not the lame leg as before, but same place. Gonna have to rereassess my form. Might also try going to the gym a little later in the day rather than in the morning. Don't know what was up with the rows. I'm trying to get more but I'm also thinking I'd rather start learning power cleans.

Took a day off squats to give my leg a rest.Bench Press: Fuck, those extra 3kg are heavy.Elevated Rows: I swear, I feel like I'm losing strength on these. I didn't do the last set cause I had a chance to get some free o-lift instructions from a trainer. Think I got a better workout out of that anyway.Dips: 15 again, gonna throw some weight on and do 3x5 from now.Reverse Crunches: Pretty easy, probs go to 7.5 lbs next time.